AbrasiveReducer

Let's be honest, here. It's a testament to Nikon's name that they can get away with something like this. And people are not going to switch to Sony or Olympus any more than they will refuse to buy the 5DIII because they think it's too expensive.

I don't mean to be rude but when things like this occur--and we're not talking about bad Tylenol, just spoiled photos--companies never admit "guilt" or beg for mercy. Besides, even falling on swords would be an inadequate response for some people here.

The reason given isn't the reason. Nikon USA has had a long and difficult history with gray market, going back to the EPOI days. Since gray market isn't illegal, Nikon US can't effectively go after the source, leaving them to target the customer. Crazy, I know. The idea is that if a US customer knowingly or unknowingly buys a gray product Nikon will refuse to service it. They have even gone so far as to refuse to repair these products if the customer is willing to pay. But those crafty customers have found they can sometimes get their Nikon fixed by an independent repair facility so Nikon is closing this window of opportunity. BTW, I'm a Nikon owner. But I'm not a fan. And I have never bought anything gray.

I think the real villain in this fiasco was the person at Fuji who published the literal translation "the camera performs within specifications". Obviously, this meant that all the stuff in the back of the instruction manual-- shutter speeds, focus, exposure were working properly. And that's all that it meant(!) The technician could just as easily have said "well, we don't have a specific test for orbs". But Fuji misread the consumers, some of whom flew into a rage, saying that Fuji was denying the existance of these orbs when nobody has ever said they don't exist. I personally doubt they were even aware of them but I am quite sure that before any new camera is released they will take lots of photos of car headlights.

My only question is, what should people do until late May (which sounds like a date that will slip)? I have yet to get a white orb so I'm not personally concerned, but if I was having this problem, this would be frustrating. At least they've made it clear that it's the sensor and developing and producing a new type of sensor cannot take place overnight.

The Japanese have had a tough year, too. But more to the point, the price is not too high when the product is sold out in advance of the first shipment.

Sigma is not large and as for the price, they simply could not miss by this much and have had some elaborate, clever plan. They goofed, plain and simple. They are also hobbled by their name (reputation) which, fairly or unfairly is not the best.

While the camera industry is no different from any other in creating solutions looking for a problem, my experience was the Japanese were very receptive to customer wishes; the Germans less so (I worked for both) and you can see how the two approaches worked out. The manufacturer has to balance what is theoretically possible against what will sell well. The customer simply wants what they want and is convinced that things they deem essential are also essential to everybody else which is almost never the case. Sometimes, the same doctor who would would buy a microscope without questioning the price is a real tire kicker when it comes to his "profession", photography.

Lightroom was designed by and for photographers, some of whom prefer to spend their time shooting and editing instead of being "technical". I agree that you can spend hours or days doing fantastically complicated image manipulation in Photoshop. What joy.

If they do fix it, the amount of free publicity will have been astounding. Probably more posts on this little camera than any other, ever. Even now, with less than a week to go, people insist on speculating, based on no knowledge whatsoever. Some folks have even decided that whatever Fuji does will be unaceptible, even though they have no idea what Fuji will do.

And a mirror.

Oh dear. I knew this day would come. Not sure how they will resolve it, but if they do, DPR readers will have to find something else to complain about. My suggestion: The D800 has too many megapixels and the 5D III has too few. This way, you can argue in both directions at the same time.

How do you know this? Did they consult with you?

Looks like a big improvement. I've been amazed at how my D700 is still usable at 2000 whereas my 5DII gets noisy at 500. Still not sure what ISO 50,000 is used for, though. Maybe if you leave the lens cap on?

It leaves Nikon making cameras and Canon making cameras. And people who use Nikon cameras will continue using Nikon cameras. And people who use Canon cameras will keep on using Canon cameras. This "battle" exists only in your mind. And, as this stuff gets more and more expensive, users are even more locked in to one brand or the other.

I ordered the camera. But what I remember most from the video is the barrel distortion of the brick wall. Somehow this distortion is considered entirely acceptable with video, even with big Hollywood movies.

True. And even with all that other stuff--(January 30): Canon Inc. (7751) said its president will step down after the world’s largest camera maker forecast profit will increase by less than 1 percent for a second straight year.
President and Chief Operating Officer Tsuneji Uchida, 70, will leave both posts effective March 29 and be replaced by Chairman Fujio Mitarai, 76, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement.

Funny; I thought Nikon had to deal with the tsunami as well.

Yes, absolutely. Get out there and produce some Ken Rockwell-level photograhy. Then we'll take you seriously! P.S. If you found this comment helpful (I don't see how) please consider supporting my entire family with a donation.

I'm afraid you're in the wrong place. Everyone here is a "professional" and this informs their comments.